FantasyPC Video Games

Video Games Encyclopedia by Gamepressure.com

PC (Personal computer) - one of the most popular home platforms and the only one which doesn’t offer playing video games as its main purpose. PC was born in the 1970s, but it is impossible to give an exact moment of its birth or even a name of its creator. However, IBM is the one who gave computers their present shape, using, at the beginning of the 1980s, an idea of open architecture – which is today one of the most important differences between computers and consoles.

The foundations of PC as a gaming platform are currently systems of digital distribution of video games (Steam, Origin, Uplay) and MMO games that mostly work in f2p (free-to-play) model.

An action RPG and the third chapter of the adventures of a morally unambiguous monster slayer, Geralt of Rivia. As were the parts of the cycle, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s literary works, while not being a direct adaptation of any of his books. The story picks up after the events of the previous game and focuses on several plotlines, including Geralt’s lost love, invasion of the Nilfgaard Empire on the Northern Kingdoms, as well as the eponymous, spectral hunt. The gameplay is characterized by a sandbox style, giving players much freedom in exploring the vast world (an area more than 40 times bigger than in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings) and completing hundreds of side quests. The developers from CD Projekt RED introduced many new features, including a new REDengine3 that offers excellent audiovisual quality.

A heroic action RPG and the fifth main installment in the popular The Elder Scrolls franchise. Bethesda Softworks once again takes the players to the fantasy continent of Tamriel. The plot of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is set 200 years after the events depicted in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The main character is the last of the Dragonborn (Dovahkiin), a human (or a member of one of the several other available races) able to wield the powerful magic of dragons. With the arrival of the last Dragonborn, an old prophecy heralding the return of Alduin - the dragon god of destruction - is set into motion. The game combines elements of dynamic action with Bethesda-style cRPG, featuring a complex system of character development and a vast, open world. High quality visuals in the game are generated by the Creation Engine, Bethesda's original graphic engine.

Soulcalibur VI is a three-dimensional fighting game in which players can fight each other by using various characters equipped with melee weapons like swords, axes, daggers, hammers, rapiers, sables and sticks. The title is an entry in the series developed by Namco Bandai since 1995.

An action RPG game and the second chapter of the adventures of Geralt of Rivia. Similarly to its predecessor from 2007, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was developed by CD Projekt RED. The game follows the foiled plot to assassinate King Foltest. With the appearance of a mysterious man called Kingslayer the titular witcher becomes entangled in a complicated political intrigue, in which the fate of several kingdoms will be decided. The developers tried to faithfully recreate the world known from the literary works of Andrzej Sapkowski while enriching it with new elements. Great emphasis was put on moral choices leading to one of 16 possible endings, and on the completely rebuilt, dynamic combat system. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is distinguished by excellent visuals powered by the developer’s proprietary REDengine.

A sequel to Warhammer: The End Times – Vermintide from 2015. The title is a first-person perspective action game focused on cooperation mode. The players use various weapons to fight beasts living in the Old World.

Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition is a remastered version of the 2002’s bestselling RPG for PC. The project includes the vanilla game as well as the Shadows of Undrentide, Hordes of the Underdark, and Kingmaker expansions. The title enhances the graphics and retains the compatibility with older mods at the same time.

The complete edition of Final Fantasy XV - it contains all the expansion packs and improvements introduced into the game within a year and a half since the release of the original version. The game is characterized by an exceptionally fast-paced and arcady combat system, as well as by an interesting world - Final Fantasy XV combines typical fantasy with science fiction; the in-game locations or character designs were evidently inspired by present-day times.

The sixth main entry in one of the most popular turn-based strategy fantasy games, started by the legendary developer New World Computing in 1995. To refresh the series, the development has been entrusted to the team at Black Hole Games, known from highly-rated RTS games Armies of Exigo and Warhammer: Mark of Chaos. The game takes place 400 years before the events depicted in the previous entry and revolves around an intrigue of Angels trying to re-instill a long-forgotten war. The only ones able to stop its outbreak are the members of the House Griffin, who went separate ways a long time ago, all of them now leading their own factions. Gameplay is a classic combination of turn-based strategy with RPG features, supplemented with some new solutions, like the reputation system, lack of separate screens for each town or the option to convert enemy cities into our own type of stronghold. As per new trends, the game offers astounding, three-dimensional visuals and social options.

An indie action-adventure game with role-playing elements, created by Lionel Gallat, a former DreamWorks and Universal animator. In the game, you explore a fantasy-medieval world inhabited by animals. Your task is to reach the island of Preiclave, once a lodgment of a powerful rat army, now an abandoned and haunted place. You also need to discover what happened on the island and find the treasure, which is said to be hidden in the local tower. The game focuses both on exploration, during which you find clues and uncover the island's secrets, and on combat. Doing both of those earns you experience points, which allow you to develop your character. Ghost of a Tale also features a multitude of references to young adult and children's literature as well as popular video games.

A dark fantasy cRPG developed by debuting studio Red Hook. The story is set in a dark, medieval-like universe. While exploring ruins of an old castle and its dungeons, you face off against forces of darkness that overwhelmed the land because of the reckless actions of its previous sovereign. As you delve into the depths, you discover the dark history of a family who brought the evil upon the world. The gameplay focuses on dungeon crawling - dungeons filled with traps and crawling with monsters that need to be dealt with during turn-based combat sequences. An original idea is the sanity indicator of your heroes. Each team member has different personality and reacts differently to what is happening around him/her. Therefore, while playing you should keep an eye on their well being and fear levels, alleviating their stress by drinking alcohol or brawling, if needed.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is the third part of a cRPG series, which started in 2009 with the debut of Dragon Age: Origins. Once again BioWare took on the development of the production in cooperation with Electronic Arts. The game is set in a fantasy world of Thedas, and the main theme of the plot is a demon invasion. The player becomes a leader of the Inquisition burdened with two tasks: stopping the creatures invading from spirit world - the Fade, and finding the ones responsible for bringing them to the world of mortals. The gameplay is based on classic cRPG solutions with a focus on world exploration, tactical combat, team-building, and making ethical choices that affect the course of the story. On the technical side, Dragon Age: Inquisition employs the Frostbite 3 engine (known for Battlefield 4, among others) which provides high-quality audiovisual environment.

A fantasy action RPG developed by a debuting Piranha Bytes studio, founded by ex-employees of Greenwood Entertainment, a company that prospered in the 1990s. You take on a role of a nameless hero, who, with a group of others, gets incarcerated in a penal colony on Khorinis island. As it turns out, he is not a mere criminal, but a champion of gods who aim to clear the realm of evil forces lead by a mighty demon called The Sleeper. On his quest, the protagonist joins one of three camps and completes many tasks, encountering over 200 non-player characters and a few dozen types of monsters. As he earns experience, the nameless hero develops his skills and learns new abilities – both combat and magic. The game’s 3D graphics is powered by an proprietary engine called ZenGin.

An extremely popular MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game, produced by Riot Games. League of Legends is set in Valoran, a fantasy world that has been torn by a bloody war for centuries. However, the opposing nations found another way of resolving disputes – duels fought by their representatives in the arenas. The game has been designed with multiplayer mode in mind, based on rivalry between two teams composed of several people. Each player controls one character. The key to the victory lies in cooperation between the team members and the ability to make good use of the individual strengths of each character. The game is using free-to-play business model with optional micropayments for some items and features.

The second expansion to action-RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt created by CD Projekt RED. This time we accompany Geralt during his stay in Touissant – one of few countries in The Witcher’s universe still untouched by war. However, under the veil of carefree idyll the city hides a dark, bloody secret. Investigating the mystery is another task for the White Wolf. Just like in the first expansion, new content does not end with new missions. The add-on also features new items, characters, and monsters. According to the developers’ estimate, Blood and Wine offers over 20 hours of gameplay.

Another installment of the popular series of action games with RPG features. The series is developed by Capcom and its installments were usually released on Nintendo and Sony consoles. The plot isn’t very important in Monster Hunter World – the player simply assumes the role of the titular monster hunter who is tasked with exploring the mysterious continent known as the New World. There he kills powerful beasts as part of bounty contracts. The title offers a vast, open world that can be traversed on foot or on the back of a tamed monster. However, the main part of the game isn’t exploration, but battles with beasts. Each of the monsters has unique advantages and weakness. The battles are played in real time and the player can use variety of melee and ranged weapons and gadgets. The success lies in proper tactics and taking advantage of the surroundings.

An official expansion to the second installment in the action RPG series - Gothic. The add-on expands Piranha Bytes' work by a new story chapter, loosely tied to the events depicted in the original story. The Nameless Hero needs to help the Water Mages in their quest to defeat Raven, a magnate known from the first Gothic, who aims to lay his hands on a mighty artifact called the Claw of Beliar, hidden away in the Temple of Adanos. This time you get to visit new locations, whereas the old ones were expanded by new secret places. The developers introduced a wide array of new missions, monsters, equipment, and non-player characters – including some known from the first installment. The progression system features new options and the gameplay difficulty was raised. Apart from further engine improvements, numerous bugs found in the base game were fixed.

A direct sequel to Divinity: Original Sin and another installment in the popular RPG series launched in 2002 by the Belgian developer, Larian Studios. The story takes place once more in the fantasy land of Rivellon and presents events that occur between the first and second game in the franchise. This time around, we assume the role of a sourcerer, who uses the forbidden powers of the Source and is constantly pursued by the Order. We can determine the race and origin of our character, both of which influence the attitude of the encountered NPCs towards him or her to a large extent. The gameplay mechanics do not deviate significantly from the previous game in the series, although the developers did introduce a few novelties, such as a modified combat system, new element combinations as well as Source Powers. Contrary to its predecessor and other titles of the franchise, the production has a clearly darker atmosphere.

Another installment in the series of dark action RPGs, initiated and developed by Japanese studio From Software. The title is set in the same fantasy universe, in terms of content however, it offers a completely new story in which we visit 12 previously inaccessible locations. At the same time, the game features a more extensive plot, and the gameplay itself is accompanied by over an hour of cutscenes. The production includes as many as 12 character classes, 45 new enemies, 15 challenging bosses, 100 weapons, 40 pieces of armor and nearly 200 other items. One of the most important new features is the possibility of sacrificing the bodies of defeated enemies, which allows us to summon certain characters or haunt another player’s game. New sword fighting techniques were also introduced, and we learn them gradually as we progress in the game. Both the atmosphere characteristic of the series, and the high level of difficulty have been preserved in the sequel.

Pillars of Eternity is a fantasy cRPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment with the support of the users of Kickstarter funding platform. The player assumes the role of a hero who, with the help of his or her companions must embark on a dangerous quest complete a series of perilous tasks. The gameplay of Pillars of Eternity is reminiscent of classic productions such as Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment. The creators decided to utilize combat mechanics with an active pause system. The game features also a complex character development system, and a rich variety of weapons and gear for the characters can use.

Third game from the popular RPG series, which began in 2001 year thanks to a previously unknown studio, Piranha Bytes. It follows the story of the Nameless Hero, once again taking us to the fictional fantasy universe, which has been significantly expanded, when compared to previous titles. The game’s world consists of 3 different lands: kingdom of Myrtana, ice-covered Nordmar and desert Varant. The player can freely shape the story, completing any number of nearly 1000 available quests for 10 different factions present in the game. Depending on which side he chooses at the end, he will come to one of 3 different endings. New chapter of the series comes with many changes in gameplay, including new skills, greatly enhanced character progression system, better equipment screen, and simplified fights, as well as significantly improved visuals.

An action RPG developed by CD Projekt RED and based on the series of short stories and novels by Andrzej Sapkowski. The story of the game is set in 1270, five years after the Northern War. After losing his memory, Geralt somehow returns to the Witcher keep Kaer Morhen. The stronghold soon gets ambushed by a group known as the Salamander... While in pursuit of the attackers, our protagonist becomes entangled in an intricate plot involving the Order of the Flaming Rose. In the course of our quest we visit a number of locations and encounter several characters known from the books. The developers created a sizable world that reacts dynamically to the actions of the main character. On the technical side, The Witcher uses a completely rebuilt version of Aurora Engine.

An action RPG set in a dark fantasy world. It has been developed by the Japanese From Software studio, known from e.g. Ninja Blade, Demon’s Souls, and the Armored Core series. The story of Dark Souls takes place in a grim universe, greatly resembling the medieval age. The plot in scarcely depicted, and the players take role of an undead character, whose actions will shape the fate of the world. The game is a third-person perspective hack-and-slash. In a manner befitting a sandbox game, players are given a lot of freedom at exploring locations and undertaking various tasks. The game stands out with its high difficulty level and complex multiplayer mode.

A card logic game set in the fantasy universe of Azeroth, known from the Warcraft franchise. The game was developed by Blizzard Entertainment company, who mention the cult card game Magic: The Gathering as one of their major inspirations. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft lets you pick one of the nine available character classes and build you own deck of cards, which you can use in battles against the AI (tutorials) or living opponents (duels, tournaments). Gameplay mechanics are based on a set of easy to learn rules. Victory is rewarded with new cards. The game is based on free-to-play model with optional microtransactions, which means that although you can play Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft for free, some elements require payment.

A sequel to the successful RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment. The story told in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire follows the threads started in the first installment of the series. Eothas, the god of renewal and light, comes back to life and takes the form of a statue buried under the protagonist’s keep. Although the stronghold gets destroyed, the main hero survives. From now on, he or she has to pursue a new goal, which is to hunt down Eothas as well as find answers to questions that can bring chaos to the world of gods and mortals. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire takes the player to the eponymous Deadfire archipelago in the far east. In this new region you can travel not only on foot, but also by ship. While controlling your party of characters, in the classic isometric view, you get to explore different locations, complete missions of varying importance and fight with opponents met on the way. Note that the world of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire lives a life of its own, and the choices you made in the first game have consequences here too. Some changes and improvements were made to the User Interface and dialogue system as well as the visuals, which now feature dynamic weather.